$35 tablet Aakash FAQs

We have been getting a lot of queries regarding the availability of recently announced Aakash tablet from Indian Government, so I decided to do quick FAQs post, which will help you get the answer of most of your questions.

Q1: I am a student, how can I buy Aakash tablet?

A: According to the government press release, Aakash will be distributed to students through the institutions at which they are studying. So, the best way to find out about the exact availability of Aakash is to contact the student cell or Dean, Students’ Welfare. The device distribution has already started and 500 tablets were given to students at the press conference.

Q2: What is the price of this tablet for students?

A: Government will be subsiding the student version of Aakash tablet and sell it for around INR 1730 ($35) and students will have to pay that. However, the exact price of this tablet is $49.98 (INR 2276), which was paid by the Government to procure these tablets and does not include the subsidy.

Q3: Will there be a commercial version of Aakash that can be purchased by normal consumers?

A: Yes, the manufacturer Datawind has announced that it will start selling the commercial version of Aakash (named as Ubislate 7) in November. The price for commercial will be INR 2,999. This retail version will be available via normal stores, and online stores, but the exact availability details are still not out.

Q4: Is there any different between student version Aakash and Commercial version Ubislate 7?

A: Yes, the commercial version will have GPRS connectivity, which is absent from student version. Ubislate 7 buyers will be able to make calls using their tablets, which will not be an option in Aakash.

Q5: I am a student, where will I get the content for my tablet?

A: After buying the tablet, you will be able to access thousands of items of content available on the Sakshat portal and other educational web-sites. Government has also asked National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NME-ICT) to develop more content for the tablet.

Q6: What are the main features of this tablet?

A: The student version will come with Android 2.2, 7 inch resistive display, 256MB RAM, 2 GB Internal storage, 366MHz processor, 2 USB 2.0 ports and WiFi connectivity along with an up-to 32GB microSD card slot. It will also support document formats like DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, ODT, ODP, and come with PDF viewer, and Text editor installed. There will be no Android Market support but you will be able download apps from appstores like Getjar, SlideMe and more.

The commercial version will have all of the above features along with GPRS and SIM card slot as mentioned above.

That is all for now, if you have any more questions, drop them in comments.

we run a private educational institute with 200+ students in various batches can we make available only 50 pcs to our students so as for personal & educational motivation in there studies pls respond we will pay as per the requirement posted by u

@anand it is said to be launching within 60 days from yesterday.. so keep your fingers crossed…
@raj There is no Android market in either of the version, as mentioned above, you should wait for the actual release..

366 MHz processor and Resistive touch make it useless. This will be a dud in the open market. This tablet “from India” will remain a just a symbolic “discovery”. Any company can make it in this price with such a low configuration.

@anver dude than buy a chinese one!
you are just looking at its negatives..luk at its postives…its far better than chinese!!
Its not for u watching movies,playing gmaes…its for educational purpose!its best in its class..in this price!!go for it..i have it..its gud!

the phone i purchases 3 years ago had a faster processor than this tablet…resistive touch, 366mhz processor, 256 mb ram ???
seriously, are you people kidding ?
cheapest doesn’t make sense when you are not giving enough features plus i don’t think it has motion sensor…so no motion sensor games and camera is also not there…the only thing i liked about this tablet is that it has expandable memory and usb ports…imho rest of the features aren’t very good and android os doesn’t make much sense because you cannot download apps…for someone who seriously want to buy a tablet and money is not an issue..don’t even think about this one and for someone who doesn’t really wanna buy a tablet but is willing to try the “cheapest” indian tab…well go for it..buying a 7″ touch screen device for 1500 isn’t a bad deal…nothing good…nothing bad.

does it have a webcam…and will we have to buy apps from the sakshat portal and over it all do you think its worth it..i mean the display is touch with a stylus…pls do answer me up. im the student represntative at my institute..i will talk up to my dean if its woth it

@Karan
I’ve seen toys with Lcd screens which displays and pronounces alphabets… They’re also educational devices… Will you call them tablets, if the India Govt. releases a press note saying that, its the cheapest tab in the world made by India… I appreciate the Govt’s interest towards education… But I feel pity for its quality… Its ridiculous that govt. is behind designing a very very low quality tablet, while its not even able to supply text books for school students at time

Who would pay for the subsidy? The public money or donations from Politicians. Who will pay for defective pieces? what about service , repair and spares? Who will pay for Internet connection and downloading charges ? What about Data safety and misuse of device? Can anyone sell it and get another subsidised piece?

what about service , repair and spares? Who will pay for Internet connection and downloading charges ?
i want to buy the commercial version while m pursing C.S can i ?
.exe file can be install in it or not?
m in kolkata how can i get it?

Hi,
I’m a student of C.A. I want to give some advice that, everything is best with this affordable price but according to me battery power is not so good. It should be 4000 mAh because it is specially made for teachers and student and normally a student have to spend apprx. 5 hour in college. Thats why it should made in such a way that it give 5-6 hour usage time. The second big problem is, there is no bluetooth which is mandatory for this generation so that teachers & student can share their books or edu software. Even, after adding of this two things if price slightly rise then the latter will be much better than the former. So plz think about my advice. Thank you

i am a student of class 11….will our school distribute this tablet pc to us or is it only for students in higher education ? …..is the commercial version having 3G support ?……plz help me if the commercial version is value for money product…